mark forrester
- Apr 30, 2015
- 2
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2015
- Messages
- 2
Evening all,
Firstly let me introduce myself abit. My trade is High voltage substations so i do abit of mechanical and Low voltage maintenance but more mechanically biased.
My hobby is using my car on track days (Honda S2000) but in the past 12 months i have managed to cook 2 alternators and each time its been the rectifier built into the alternator thats packed in. The engine bay gets hot and the alternator is sitting at about 90c using a infra red thermometer. A new rectifier is £180
Now i have seen in the USA they manufacturer a external rectifier kit that eases these heat issues
http://alternatorparts.com/quicktifier-external-bridge-rectifier.html
Its quite simple in design and i understand how it works. From what i have read thou is that these kits are cheap to produce and inside you basically have a 3 phase bridge rectifier with 6 diodes converting the AC into DC.
If i was to buy something like the link below would it do the same job?
http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/bridge-rectifiers/0192528/
Obviously there are a few considerations
1- Fan cooled to increase its lifespan and thats not an issue i can make a box to place it in and use a 12v fan to force air through
2- Car alternators generate AC in various frequencies. Would this sort of diode rectifier be able to handle those frequencies? I dont want to fit it and then find that it burns out after a couple of days.
3. I would still use the existing alternator voltage regulator so if i understand it correctly the regulator will still control the voltage regardless of what the diode rectifier is doing. ( from what i understand when the regulator senses the correct voltage it collapses the alternators field and it stops generating )
Thanks for any advice you can provide.
Like i said im more a hammers and spanners type guy but i have a fair understanding of 12v circuits and just needs some pointing in the right direction regarding diode choice etc.
Firstly let me introduce myself abit. My trade is High voltage substations so i do abit of mechanical and Low voltage maintenance but more mechanically biased.
My hobby is using my car on track days (Honda S2000) but in the past 12 months i have managed to cook 2 alternators and each time its been the rectifier built into the alternator thats packed in. The engine bay gets hot and the alternator is sitting at about 90c using a infra red thermometer. A new rectifier is £180
Now i have seen in the USA they manufacturer a external rectifier kit that eases these heat issues
http://alternatorparts.com/quicktifier-external-bridge-rectifier.html
Its quite simple in design and i understand how it works. From what i have read thou is that these kits are cheap to produce and inside you basically have a 3 phase bridge rectifier with 6 diodes converting the AC into DC.
If i was to buy something like the link below would it do the same job?
http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/bridge-rectifiers/0192528/
Obviously there are a few considerations
1- Fan cooled to increase its lifespan and thats not an issue i can make a box to place it in and use a 12v fan to force air through
2- Car alternators generate AC in various frequencies. Would this sort of diode rectifier be able to handle those frequencies? I dont want to fit it and then find that it burns out after a couple of days.
3. I would still use the existing alternator voltage regulator so if i understand it correctly the regulator will still control the voltage regardless of what the diode rectifier is doing. ( from what i understand when the regulator senses the correct voltage it collapses the alternators field and it stops generating )
Thanks for any advice you can provide.
Like i said im more a hammers and spanners type guy but i have a fair understanding of 12v circuits and just needs some pointing in the right direction regarding diode choice etc.